In Spanish we use the impersonal pronoun se as "one" in order to explain general statements. The verb is conjugated in the 3rd person singular.
Have a look at these examples:
Se vive bien en Mérida.
One lives well in Merida.
Se come bien en la playa.
One eats well at the beach.
Se duerme mejor con la conciencia tranquila.
One sleeps better with a clear conscience.
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Q&A
Silvia
Kwiziq language super star
20/11/17
Dear Gail, thanks a lot for your question and sorry about our delay. The lesson above is about using the impersonal "se" + a verb in the 3rd person singular. However, if the verb is conjugated in the 3rd person plural, we are dealing not with an impersonal sentence, but with a passive sentence instead. Therefore, in the quiz you can find "se" followed by the 3rd person singular or plural depending on the context. I hope this explanation makes more sense to you and do not hesitate to contact us again if you need further help.
Amy
Kwiziq community member
8 December 2018
2 replies
One vs. You
I feel like in modern English, we don't say 'one' does something, but rather, it's expressed using 'you' in the sentence without being a personal statement or piece of advice.
Would this be a reasonable translation/interpretation?
Se duerme mejor con la conciencia tranquila.
- One sleeps better with a clear conscience.
- You sleep better with a clear conscience.
The second sentence is not necesarily a personal statement. It can also be said impersonally like a general statement.
I find that when I'm speaking Spanish, I over use 'you' too much in phrases like this because the sentence structure of 'one should...' doesn't occur to me. However, I can recognize the statement is impersonal while I'm saying it.
It would be helpful to know if this is the structure I should be using in these situations.
PS. I'm not referring to passing the quizzes but more for the knowledge of how to use this better in real communication.
Gracias!
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
8 December 2018
8/12/18
Hola Amy,
It is a bit tricky sometimes which structure to choose in English when dealing with an impersonal sentence. We chose "one does" in this case but as you say using "you do..." would also be right. The other option would probably be "People do...[in general]". In Spanish you could also use the 2nd person singular for this as if referring to a general statement but I think it would have to be in a more specific scenario, for example, imagine I am explaining to a friend all the very good things about a course I am doing and then my friend asks ¿y en ese curso conoces a mucha gente nueva?, and I answer "Sí, conoces a mucha gente nueva y además de todas las edades". So, obviously, he is not asking if "I" meet lots of new people, but if "one meets" lots of new people, but he is using the "tú" form.
So, yes, I think in many cases it is quite safe to also use the tú form to express an impersonal sentence.
I hope this helps.
Gracias y un saludo
Inma
Amy
Kwiziq community member
9 December 2018
9/12/18